U.S. patent number 4,941,487 [Application Number 07/377,958] was granted by the patent office on 1990-07-17 for fluoridated dental floss.
Invention is credited to Floyd V. VanBeneden.
United States Patent |
4,941,487 |
VanBeneden |
July 17, 1990 |
Fluoridated dental floss
Abstract
Dental floss is covered with patches of fluoride so that a
flossing procedure will expose a user's teeth to a source of
flouride. The floss is either ribbon like or string like.
Inventors: |
VanBeneden; Floyd V. (Euclid,
OH) |
Family
ID: |
23491166 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/377,958 |
Filed: |
July 11, 1989 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
132/323; 132/321;
132/324 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C
15/041 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
15/00 (20060101); A61C 15/04 (20060101); A61C
015/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;132/321,323,324,325,326,327 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wilson; John J.
Assistant Examiner: LaViola, Jr.; Frank A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Gernstein; Terry M.
Claims
I claim:
1. Dental floss consisting entirely of:
an elongated base of dental-floss material having an undefined
length, said base being ribbon-like in form to have a rectangular
cross-section;
patches of fluoride on said base, said patches each being
approximately one-half inch in length and being spaced apart about
one-half inch, and being less than about one mm in thickness.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the general art of dentistry, and
to the particular field of dental hygiene.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The benefits of flossing one's teeth are well documented.
Currently, dental health professionals suggest flossing at least
once per day.
Due to the advantages of such flossing procedure, there are several
proposals for various types of dental floss, such as ultra-thin
floss, wax coated floss, and the like. See, for example the flosses
disclosed in patents such as No. 3,771,536, 3,897,795 and
4,033,365.
While successful in accomplishing objectives of removing bacteria
and the like from certain portions of the teeth, these known
flosses still have a shortcoming associated with performing only a
single operation, to wit: flossing.
If one is going to the trouble of flossing, it would appear to be
efficient if more than a single procedure is carried out. The
flossing devices known to the inventor only carry out the single
function of flossing.
Still further, since floss is used by winding a substantial portion
thereof about the user's fingers, any coating placed on the floss
which is intended to further the flossing function is wasted on the
floss wound on the user's fingers. For this reason, the known
flosses are even less efficient.
Accordingly, there is a need for a dental floss which is more
efficient in carrying out a plurality of operations and which is
not wasteful of an coating material used on the floss.
More specifically, since the benefits of fluoride treatments for
teeth are also well documented, it is known to add fluoride to
drinking water and to toothpaste. However, such fluoride often does
not reach the lateral edge surfaces of a user's teeth since such
surfaces may abut each other so tightly as to prevent the fluoride
from coating such surfaces.
Therefore, there is a further need for a means to coat the lateral
edge surfaces of a person's teeth with fluoride to provide such
surfaces with the benefits of a fluoride treatment.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a dental
floss which is more efficient in carrying out a plurality of
operations and which is not wasteful of an coating material used on
the floss.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dental
floss which is more efficient in carrying out a plurality of
operations and which is not wasteful of an coating material used on
the floss which will provide the benefits of a fluoride treatment
to the lateral edges of a user's teeth.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dental
floss which is more efficient in carrying out a plurality of
operations and which is not wasteful of an coating material used on
the floss which will provide the benefits of a fluoride treatment
to the lateral edges of a user's teeth in a manner that makes
efficient use of the fluoride.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These, and other, objects of the present invention are achieved by
coating a dental floss base material with patches of fluoride. The
patches are spaced apart and are thin.
In this manner, a flossing process accomplishes a number of
objectives. The flossing function is carried out, and at the same
time, a fluoride treatment is performed on the edges of the teeth
that are being flossed. Thus, the overall process is made more
efficient than is presently available.
Further, since only patches of fluoride are used, the fluoride will
be conserved as that portion of the floss that is wound about a
user's fingers will not waste undue amounts of fluoride.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container for a ribbon style
fluoridated dental floss.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken at section 2--2 of FIG. 11 showing
a coating of fluoride on the ribbon style dental floss.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 in which the patches of fluoride
are indicated.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a thread-style fluoridated dental
floss.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view taken at section 4--4 of FIG. 4 showing
a coating of fluoride on the thread-style dental floss.
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 in which the patches of fluoride
are indicated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE
INVENTION
Shown in FIG. 1 is a dental floss container and dispenser 10. The
container 10 is similar to the many dental floss containers and
dispensers presently available and thus will not be discussed in
detail.
Ribbon-like dental floss 12 is stored and dispensed from the
container 10, and is elongated and of undefined length. The floss
thus has a width as measured between edges 14 and 16, and a
thickness as measured between top surface 18 and bottom surface 20.
The ribbon floss is formed of material that is common to dental
floss.
As best shown in FIG. 2, the floss 12 includes a layer 24 of
fluoride. Such fluoride will thus be forced onto the edges of a
user's teeth as he flosses.
As best shown in FIG. 3, the fluoride layer 24 is divided into a
multiplicity of small patches, such as patch 26. The patches are
spaced apart along the axis of the floss. The spacing between the
patches is selected so that fluoride is not unduly wasted on that
portion of the floss that is wound about a user's fingers, yet
there is sufficient fluoride on the floss to ensure a complete
fluoride treatment of the edges of the user's teeth during the
flossing process as the floss is moved back and forth along the
teeth. Specifically, a patch size of about one-half inch in length
as measured between ends 28 and 30 of patch 26 and the size of
space 32 between ends 30 and 28' of adjacent patches 26 and 26' of
about one-half inch will achieve this goal. The thickness of the
fluoride layer as measured between top surface 36 and bottom
surface 38 thereof is less than about one mm, whereby the coated
floss still will fit between a user's teeth even if such teeth are
quite crowded.
Shown in FIGS. 4-6 is a thread-like fluoridated dental floss 40.
The floss 40 is stored and dispensed from a container 10' and is
elongated and of undefined length.
The floss 40 is coated as shown in FIG. 5 by having a sleeve-like
coating 42 of fluoride surrounding the string-like base 44. The
coating 42, also, is in patches, with a space between adjacent
patches as indicated in FIG. 6. The patches, such as patch 50 are
about one-half inch long and have a space therebetween of about
one-half inch so that the above-discussed goal of efficient use of
fluoride without significant waste can be achieved The sleeves of
fluoride are also less than about one mm in radius as measured from
the string 44 to the outer surface 54 of the sleeve.
It is noted that the fluoride coatings on both forms of the floss
can be applied using processes similar to those described in the
aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,771,536, 3,897,795 and 4,033,365,
the disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by
reference. These processes will be modified to apply the fluoride
in patches as above described.
It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention
have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited
to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and
shown.
* * * * *